30 August 2016

Wait...let's back up. This story involves another set of similar chairs. Several months ago I traded in our old, country windsor chairs for this set of four vintage vinyl mid century beauties. Without a maker's mark, I don't know if they are Eck Adams, Murphy-Miller, or Gunlocke. A basic google search of each term brings up the same chair images. If you have any insight, I'd love to know!

Craig's List, I bow to thee.

One minor drawback...only four chairs for a five-person family. We try to eat dinner as a family as often as possible, so this actually matters. These are hard working chairs. So began the search for two chairs that would complete the set, and allow everyone to eat together.

I shared the exciting news of my find with my bloggy friend, Dena, of Hearts & Sharts fame. She is one of my favorite bloggers, creators, my favorite sort of person in general. We both have Basset Hounds, so...

When Dena saw my chairs, along with a virtual high-five, she reminded me of her own set of similar chairs and offered to hold on to them for me. (I borrowed her image below, here the chairs are pictured in her garage) When I traveled to Atlanta in August to attend the Haven Conference, I stayed with Dena, and these beauties came home with me! How's that for hospitality?

With only slight differences, I could easily make them look like a set. And with the right fabric, I could add them to my own set of four chairs, for a magical set of six! Six comfortable, cute, and unique chairs for our kitchen!

Selecting the Perfect Fabric

This was an easy choice. This specific fabric from Tonic Living has been on my mind for a very long time. The pattern and colors are beautiful, and I need to add more color to our decor. I ordered a 1.5 yards without hesitation, which is rare, because I usually can't make a decision to save my life.

When the fabric arrived I high-fived myself because the scale of the pattern was just perfect. *This is strictly a thing fabric/upholstery-loving weirdos do. Please do not feel obligated to high-five yourself when you find fabric that is pleasing.*

I agonized for several hours over which motif should be centered on the seat, or the seat back, and should they all match or not? I used the original fabric as a guide for size and how each motif would fit.

Once each piece was cut and placed, it's all easy going. No sewing required. That is my favorite kind of upholstery project. Just center, pull, and staple. I am so impressed with this material; I was able to stretch and pull tightly enough to eliminate wrinkles and create the perfect curve, free of puckering or pleating. Like magic.

Ideally the wood frames should will be refinished so they match. I may tackle that someday. But I'm kind of digging the rustic imperfection of the frames as they are.

I used blue linen fabric from my stash for the chair backs. The back cushions are obviously shaped differently, but the busy pattern almost makes that difference disappear, like an optical illusion. Side-by-side, the difference in wood tone is apparent, so I'll keep them apart (at opposite ends of the table) until I feel like tackling that (maybe never).

Thanks Dena! Now our family can eat together at the family dinner table in harmony! My husband and kids are rolling their eyes so thankful!

01 August 2016

All opinions and thoughts expressed within this post are 100% my own, however, this post is sponsored by D. Lawless Hardware.

Welcome to a brand new Fab Furniture Flippin' Contest™! This month we teamed up with D. Lawless Hardware.

I am a huge fan of D. Lawless Hardware. My love of hardware began with a certain bohemian clothing/home store. Back in the day, I adored their hardware selection like a kid adores candy. D. Lawless Hardware carries everything the other place carries, at a much better price. When a dresser requires 12 to 16 pieces of hardware, the prices add up quickly! I also prefer to support a small family business with a strong emphasis on customer service.

My Project

I decided to fix one of my original paint projects from many years ago. To be clear, I painted this many, many years before I knew anything about how to paint. Wow. This thing was a hot mess. I feel a tremendous amount of guilt for making Natalie live with this nightmare. #sarcasm

This dresser serves as a lesson in how to do everythingwrong when painting furniture; I am already writing a separate post about what I should have done differently, and how I fixed those mistakes the second time around.

Once I started sanding, that latex paint peeled off like a...sheet of latex.

While I'm not beating you over the head with a dramatic before & after with this makeover, the beautiful brass hardware makes a huge difference. With the right paint and simple, beautiful hardware, it looks like a different dresser.

Natalie was adamant about sticking with white for this piece, but I was "allowed" to choose the hardware. I went with these simple satin brass pulls. I honestly can't believe these are only $2.65 each. At that price you would expect to receive cheap, light-weight plastic/metal, but these pulls are solid and heavy.

Originally, the dresser had 16 pulls. That's just too much to look at. I simplified by eliminating 4 of the pulls on the top drawers. The original holes were filled and I centered the brass pulls in the recessed area.